Vulnerable Children: Our Partners

The long-term strategic goal of Just One Africa is to empower local leaders who care for vulnerable children within their community with sustainable solutions. These solutions provide long term access to clean and safe water, quality education, life skills training, adequate safe housing, and more efficient agricultural methods. These continuing viable solutions will reduce the reliance on outside sources of funding, and furnish them the means and ability to provide for themselves, as well as those they care for.

Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much ― Helen Keller

We have found it paramount to work closely with our local leaders by investing in who they are, and building deep relationships with them based on trust and respect. We take a great deal of time to listen and ask questions to determine what they desire to see happen in their communities. It is from that input that we move forward creating sustainable solutions that will be managed, constructed, and maintained locally.

Phoebe Onyango

Salem Orphanage

Salem Orphanage was started in 1992 by Phoebe Onyango, a woman who had a vision for serving children in an area of Kenya that has been devastated by the AIDS epidemic. Salem Orphanage was founded to provide neglected children a safe home where they receive love, education, and attention. Most of the children are HIV/AIDS orphans with no family support. Without Salem Orphanage, these children would be extremely vulnerable to abuse, child labor, and human trafficking. Over the last 20 years, Phoebe and her team have cared for and raised more than 700 children. She has worked tirelessly to provide for more than just their basic needs, making sure they have access to an education, medical care, shelter, and lots of love. She has a small farm in Bondo where the orphanage resides. Her struggles include finding the resources to feed and support the 85 children she currently has under her care. Phoebe is working towards greater sustainability but relies on the donations of others to keep Salem Orphanage open.

Phoebe leads and organizes training for widows and young moms so that they have the opportunity to learn different skill sets allowing them to provide for themselves and their children. She is a gifted visionary with a heart to lift others out of hopeless situations, speaking life and hope into the challenges that surround the community.

Phoebe organizes medical clinics, providing help in different communities each year. She started Salem Academy, a primary school to help vulnerable children, in 1997. This school is thriving today with hundreds of students from the local community. She also started a secondary school that is helping over 150 children each year to get secondary education.

In 1997, she opened a Community Clinic and trained 56 community health workers to help the Obunga Slums in preventing HIV/AIDS.

Phoebe is a Bishop and the pastor of a community church in Kisumu.

Just One Africa

John and Dorcus Parit

Lenkai Christian School

John and Dorcus Parit are the founders of Lenkai Christian School based in the Kimana area of south eastern Kenya. This is a private Christian school with over 250 students ranging from Baby Class (Pre-School) to Class 8 (or 8th grade). Their vision is to offer a holistic education to local Masai children, to equip them with the best possible education, and to develop their individual potential while molding them into future leaders.

They are also the founders of Lenkai Rescue Center which cares for over 50 children from needy cases such as FGM, forced or early marriage, child neglect, forced labor, human trafficking, and other abusive realities. The Center also offers non-residential support to orphans and other needy cases such as Albinism, within the neighboring community.

John is the African Director of The Olive Branch Mission, a US and Kenyan registered nonprofit with diverse projects in Kenya, including the world famous conservation program at Sidai Oleng Conservancy. This conservancy offers a wide spectrum of conservation of wildlife, water, and indigenous species of plants within a 7,000 acre conservation area managed by The Olive Branch. John is currently finalizing his dissertation for his Master’s Degree in International Management through the University of Liverpool.

Dorcus is the Volunteer Coordinator of the Water Filter Project by Just One Africa which involves training and distribution of the filters to communities. The Water Filter Program has seen distribution of over 1,000 water filters to various communities within a 150 kilometer radius from the school with tremendous success and great impact. Dorcus is also an active leader within the local and national stage where she is serving with the Local Peace Committee. She is the District Treasurer of the National Women Organization, and sits on other local and national committees involved in fighting for the rights of women and children while advocating against FGM and other forms of child abuse.

Together they have 6 amazing children, 3 girls and 3 boys.

Just One Africa

Salem Orphanage

Salem Orphanage was founded over 20 years ago by Phoebe Onyango. She grew up in the slums and understood that most low-income areas in Kisumu had a high number of orphaned and vulnerable children. She had witnessed the suffering these children experience and knew in her heart that she must do something to help them, or they would end up on the streets. The nature of support initially involved feeding programs, clothing, and medical care. Phoebe quickly realized that the provision of these basic necessities must also include education in order to help these children become self-sufficient. A school for the orphans was started with 20 children, but the number quickly increased to a level of kindergarten through 8th grade. Today there are over 600 children in the primary school and over 150 in the secondary school.

In her efforts to ensure a well-rounded education and a safe environment for these children within the slum areas, Phoebe has developed a number of programs. These have an integrated approach to ensure that all the orphans are taken care of in a manner similar to those living with their parents. These programs include:

Quality education for orphans and vulnerable children

Vocational training for class 8 graduates

Medical, HIV/AIDS, and youth health programs

Water, sanitation, and healthy environments within the school

Agricultural and livestock farming

Salem Orphanage has moved from the busy city of Kisumu to the rural shores of Lake Victoria on a 20 acre farm. Here the children are cared for, educated, and have lots of room to run and play. The farm is a place of peace and love, and the children are thriving. Phoebe continues to struggle to make ends meet and care for the 80 plus children under her care. Just One Africa, as well as a few other organizations, provide support for this worthy cause. It is Phoebe’s desire that the orphanage become self-sufficient. Community development requires a long term commitment, one that is based on an open and honest relationship built on trust and respect for the community and the people within. This process includes a lot of listening to the local leaders and lots of questions to make sure we have a clear understanding of the needs and problems, as well as what Phoebe and her team have identified as being part of the solution. It is a very thoughtful process, designed to help and not hurt.

In 2012, a 30’x60′ school building was started for the children at the farm. Previously, there was no structure to house the students, so classes would be cancelled during bad weather. The building started as a pole barn style covering and in 2013 it was completely bricked. In 2014, doors, windows, a cement floor, and wiring for electricity were added. In 2015, the building was completed with a finish coat of cement on the outside to protect the mud bricks from the weather. Throughout the week, the building also serves as a church and a community development center with life skills training for widows and single mothers. A rain catchment system and a 5,000 liter collection tank have also been provided to collect and store water for laundry and other chores.

The Farm Project

The orphanage is located on a beautiful small farm near Bondo, Kenya, on the shores of Lake Victoria. On the 20 acre farm, Phoebe is growing crops to supplement the food for the orphans. The crops include maize (corn), kale, bell peppers, bananas, passion fruit, and other fruits and vegetables. The land is irrigated from the lake via a gas powered pump. Widows are hired from the area to work the farm, while the older orphans help out during their school breaks.

In 2013, we purchased a three row furrow plow for their tractor. This significantly reduced the labor needed to prepare the land for planting. It previously take almost a month to prepare the land; it now can be done in an afternoon or two. This has lead to a quicker turnover of planting, harvesting, eating, and selling the excess for additional income. They are currently raising cattle, sheep, goats, rabbits, and chickens.

The Bread Oven Project

After talking with Phoebe and assessing the needs for additional income, it was determined that a bakery would be a viable project for us to partner with them. The Bread Oven Project is a bakery located in the rural Bondo area at the Salem Orphanage Farm.

The project started with 3 main goals:

To provide a sustainable income for the Orphanage

To provide needed food for the children

To provide jobs for the local widows near the farm

We started the project at the end of 2013, with a small yet adequate building that included cabinets, counters, storage, and plumbing. At the time there was no electricity at the farm so we purchased a charcoal fired oven and dough proofer, along with a motorcycle for delivery to the local town 25 minutes away. We did purchase a huge industrial mixer, but unfortunately the generator was not capable of powering it. They used the large bowl to mix the bread by hand, determined to not let that challenge stop them!

The community loved having the fresh bread and after providing what was needed for the orphanage, it would often sell out. The bakery employs a head baker and one other to make and package the bread. After all expenses were paid, it was generating a small amount of income. In January 2015, the orphanage finally received power, and can now use the mixer to make batches of bread more quickly. The goal is to move the production into town and to purchase an electric oven to further speed up production. Once we get to full production, we believe that over 300 loaves per day can be baked and sold. They have continued to stay cash positive. We are excited about the potential this project has to bring a larger support for Phoebe and the children.

Children’s Dormatory

Just One Africa partnered with another US based organization to provide quality housing, with toilets and showers, for the children . They have fully tiled floors and painted walls with newly made cabinets for clothing and supplies. Keeping the inside clean and organized is a top priority. The older girls have their own separate building adjacent to the main dormitory giving them more privacy. Bunk beds, mosquito nets, mattresses, and blankets are all things we have helped furnish. There is also a multipurpose room the children use for studying and play time with access to books and games we have brought over on our various trips.

Salem Orphanage Office

The office will house all the children’s files and information so that all is in order in one place whenever the Children’s Health Department comes calling. They are required to have a separate, secure building where the business of the orphanage takes place. It will be simply furnished with a desk, chair, filing cabinet, and some bookcases.

Lenkai Christian School

John and Dorcus Parit are the founders of Lenkai Christian School, situated in the heart of Masai Land at the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro in southern Kenya. Lenkai is a school that was founded under a strong Christian foundation in 2013. It has offered educational services to the local Masai people with the aim of transforming the lives of the community surrounding the school. The school is committed to offering high quality education. The school is at its capacity with 250 students ranging from baby class to grade 8. They continue to add a new grade level each year.

The Parits also run the Lenkai Rescue Center caring for over 50 children who have been exposed to early marriage, female genital mutilation (FGM,) and others whose parents were unable to offer parental care from the Masai community.

In 2015, Just One Africa partnered with Lenkai to build a large multi-purpose building used for dining, musical productions, and community development seminars. It can also be rented out, bringing additional income to the school to cover other expenses. Just One Africa has also partnered with Lenkai to build a kitchen for the school lunch program and to prepare the meals for the rescue center. Another goal of the kitchen was to launch a bakery, which will bake bread for the students and rescue center children, to provide additional loaves to be sold for sustainable income for the school, and to provide jobs for a few local workers. One of the most recent, exciting initiatives is the drilling of a borehole as a reliable water source for them to use in agriculture, instituting other income generating activities and giving clean water to the students and kitchen for food preparation. This borehole will be a catalyst for bringing sustainability to Lenkai for years to come!

VISION: To be the center of excellence in providing quality education that ensures holistic development of each child.

MISSION: We are committed to providing the best possible Godly atmosphere conducive for learning growth and development of each child unto their full potential.

PHILOSOPHY: Train up a child in the way he should go and when he or she is old he or she will never depart from it.

Impact:

Children at Lenkai Christian School: 250

Children at Lenkai Rescue Center: 50

Community Development Center for Enrichment and Education

Community Training to stop FGM (Female Genital Mutilation)

Recycled Paper Bead Program – Providing education, income and clean water (Read More)

In late 2014, a building project with Lenkai was fully funded and construction began. The goal was to build a large meeting room for the students to use as an assembly hall, dining area, recital hall, and community outreach for development and education. The 40’x70′ building was completed in early 2015. It was constructed with a cement floor, tin siding and roof, and stage for assemblies and productions. This will benefit the school’s music program as it gives the children a place to produce and put on concerts for their parents and the community.

As this is one of the largest buildings in the area, it will be rented out as a community building for meetings, training, and weddings. This rent will provide a sustainable income for the school.

The Music Program

In 2013, Dorcus asked us for some instruments for a music program they wanted to launch. Upon hearing the need for instruments Katelyn Churchill, a graduating 5th grader in the US collected over 100 recorders from several schools in her area. Many music books and teaching charts were also donated. Within weeks of receiving the recorders, the children at Lenkai were performing a small concert. Lenkai has a music instructor that comes down from Nairobi on a weekly basis. All the students in the school have received blank staff books to learn how to read and write music. The growing music program now includes keyboards, drums, guitars, violins, and dozens of finger pianos, as well as all the original recorders.

These children will benefit additionally when they apply to a university. The vast majority of schools in Kenya do not teach music so these children will be sought after by the universities, with many of them receiving scholarships.

Dorcus shared that they have seen many of the Rescue Center children responding very well to the program. This has increased their self-esteem and has, in-turn, helped them with their studies. Music has become a great therapy for the trauma these young lives have encountered and continues to bring healing.

In August of 2015, one of the older girls who has dedicated herself to practicing the violin has excelled tremendously. She entered and won a district completion. She then moved onto regional and won that too. This was the first time anyone from the southern area has competed and won with a violin. She moved onto the national competition and won 4th in the nation!!! We are SO very proud of her and her dedication to learning a very difficult instrument! In September she was invited to play at a ceremony that the First Lady of Kenya was attending to unveil a women’s community initiative. What an honor for her and the entire Lenkai School! And to think it was started by a 5th grade student who did what she could with what she had access to. Just a drop in the lake, but the ripples will be surely felt for years to come.

FGM Problem

Dorcus is a very outspoken advocate for the girls who have been traumatized from the practice of FGM and early marriage. She is working closely with the government and other local leaders who are dedicated to engaging the community in proactive and preventative measures. Dorcus works with the youth as well as the matriarchs of the communities to educate them on the harmful effects of FGM and to share other creative ways that celebrations can occur for the girls passage to womanhood. She is also a strong voice against early marriage and a huge proponent for girls education. This is one of the biggest needs within the Masai community and one that prompted the opening of the Lenkai Rescue Center.

Facts about FGM:

Female genital mutilation (FGM) includes procedures that intentionally alter or cause injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.

The procedure has no health benefits for girls and women.

Procedures can cause severe bleeding, problems urinating, and later cysts, infections, and infertility, as well as complications in childbirth and increased risk of newborn deaths.

Globally, it is estimated that over 140 million girls and women have undergone some form of FGM.

FGM is a violation of the human rights of girls and women. It is also against the law in Kenya.

Water Well (Borehole)

This major sustainability project is one that has been at the top of the list for John and Dorcus over the past few years. They identified it as their biggest need, one that would unlock much need resources for other areas within the school and rescue center. In the fall of 2015, Just One Africa was able to raise enough funds for the drilling of the borehole, high capacity pump, water storage tank, and a building for selling.

This single project will impact the school by allowing them to redirect funds they were using to buy water when the local water sources had been shut off. The borehole will open up the income-generating opportunities of selling it to others who need clean water. It will also allow for a future car wash on the edge of the school property which will bring in additional income. The water will be used in the newly constructed bakery and kitchen allowing them to keep the students well fed and healthy! The consistent water will be a huge help in the newly planted gardens that they have started allowing them to be less dependent on outside food sources that are needed to feed the kids.

All in all, this has brought about a huge relief as the water supply has not always been consistent in the area, and was a growing problem and stress for the school. Thanks to the donors who helped us accomplish this very significant project, Lenkai’s future is looking more and more sustainable in the most important ways!

Kitchen and Bakery

As the school has reached it’s full capacity, the ability to care for all these children needs to be increased. The original kitchen, while adequate in the beginning, needed to be expanded. Just One Africa partnered with them to build a new and more adequate kitchen, which also doubles as a bakery. This income generating project provides the opportunity for breads, cakes, and pastries to be sold to the growing local community, supporting the school and rescue center.

The crops that are growing, because of the borehole, will be used in the lunch program allowing the programs to come full circle. It will be an incredible blessing to the students as they will be able to learn with a full belly. A consistent source of income from the sales of the baked goods will allow Lenkai to establish a strong foundation.

We are very grateful for the support of our donors who made this important project possible.

Within the two years, Just One has been successful in increasing productivity of the orphanage farm that serves both to support the nutritional needs of the orphanage as well as source of revenue for the orphanage. They have improved the orphanage infrastructure through expansion of dorms, classrooms, improvement of sanitation facilities. When you see the structure that had no walls, no roof that served as a classroom. To seeing the smiling faces of those same children learning in a classroom that is a proper shelter, with black boards and teaching materials then you realize that whatever you do to support JOA truly impacts the lives of God’s very own children and this is a great honor and joy to be able to do so.